Liverpudlian documentary subjects The Beatles are to be the subject of a new documentary directed by Ron Howard, one that will tell the story of how four lads who shared a love of amphetamines and having every minute of their lives analyzed came together to create some of the world’s most beloved music biographies. “What’s so intriguing to me is not only the subject, but the context we can bring to it now,” Howard, and anyone else who has ever written anything on The Beatles over the past 50 years, said. That context—“the significance of The Beatles as individuals, as musical geniuses, as societal leaders and their effect on global culture”—will be applied to a film focusing on the group’s years as a live act, from its club days in Liverpool and Hamburg to its final show in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, all supporting the thesis that The Beatles were pretty good.
“There is something utterly exceptional about The Beatles beyond any other musical group. I’m hoping, as we go on this journey together and piece together (this film), when it’s finished, you get an understanding of that,” producer Aaron Sinclair said of this as-yet-untitled project, which aims to convince skeptical audiences watching their Beatles documentary that The Beatles are interesting enough to make a movie about.
More than just revealing that The Beatles were important, however, the documentary also promises to yield some never-before-seen concert footage, which producers hope to combine with soundboard recordings and overdubs of people explaining the ’60s to create the best possible representation of their performances. They’ll be doing so with the full support of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, who have all agreed to cooperate with a project under the assurance that this film will present The Beatles in a positive light. Then it will be up to audiences to decide.